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A recent security breach at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport has exposed multiple failures in airport and airline safeguards after a 25-year-old man allegedly used a forged boarding pass to get onto a United Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles, according to court records and law enforcement officials.

Investigators say Abdulrahman Oriyomi managed to clear a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint on the morning of May 18, even though his United reservation had been canceled and the digital boarding pass on his phone appeared to be a forgery, missing key information and containing an invalid QR code.

Surveillance video cited in a criminal complaint shows him speaking with a TSA officer, being escorted to a separate screening booth for additional verification, having his photo taken, and then being allowed into the secure area of the airport, according to ABC13.

According to charging documents, Oriyomi first attempted to board at one United gate, where the fake pass failed to scan twice and agents turned him away.

More than an hour later, as gate staff at a different United departure were busy, he allegedly walked past them without a valid scan and boarded United Flight 469 to Los Angeles, blending in with other passengers.

Once on board, investigators say he sat in a seat that was not assigned to him, moved repeatedly between restrooms and the cabin, and eventually hid in a bathroom as the aircraft taxied from the gate.

A passenger alerted flight attendants to suspicious behavior, prompting the crew to check the manifest and determine he was not listed, according to court records.

The aircraft returned to the gate, where it was met by Houston police, airport security, an explosives ordnance team, and FBI agents, triggering a full security sweep and forcing all passengers to deplane for additional checks.

The incident delayed the Los Angeles-bound flight by about three hours and disrupted operations on the concourse, officials said.

Security experts who reviewed the incident say the breach reveals failures across several layers that are supposed to prevent unauthorized access to aircraft, including document verification at TSA checkpoints, automated and manual checks at boarding gates, and monitoring of boarding areas, ABC7 reported.

They note that standard procedures require matching each passenger's government-issued ID, valid boarding pass, and seat assignment before departure, a process that did not stop Oriyomi until after the plane left the gate.

Oriyomi has been charged in Texas with impairing or interrupting the operation of a critical infrastructure facility, a felony that carries a potential prison sentence, according to court filings.

Records show he was questioned and given a trespass warning on the day of the incident, with formal charges filed on June 1 and an arrest executed days later following further investigation of the boarding pass image recovered from his phone.

TSA and United Airlines have declined to answer detailed questions about how Oriyomi was allowed past screening and onto the aircraft, citing the ongoing investigation.

Both agencies said in brief statements that they are cooperating with law enforcement and reviewing procedures, while federal authorities continue to assess whether additional security changes are needed ahead of the busy summer travel season, as per NBC News.